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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

URBANA,   FEBRUARY,   1901. 


BULLETIN  No.  62. 


THE  MARKET  CLASSES  OF  HORSES. 


BY  E.  DAVENPORT,  M.AGR.,  PROFESSOR  OF  ANIMAL  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE 

COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE  AND  ANIMAL  HUSBANDRY  SPECIALIST  IN 

THE  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


According1  to  the  best  estimates  available  only  about  sixty  per 
cent  of  the  horses  that  make  their  way  to  the  Chicago  market  fill 
the  requirements  of  the  recognized  market  classes,  leaving  forty 
per  cent,  as  "unclassed." 

MARKET  CLASSES  REPRESENT  THE  MOST  USEFUL.  TYPES. — From 
the  nature  of  the  case  the  market  classes  represent  all  the  types  and 
classes  for  which  any  general  demand  has  asserted  itself,  and  if 
a  new  use  should  arise  demanding  a  new  type  of  horse,  the  attempt 
to  secure  it  would  immediately  give  rise  to  a  new  market  class. 

Too  MANY  UNCLASSED  HORSES. — While  it  is  and  always  will 
be  true  that  the  breeder  will  often  fail  to  produce  what  he  aims  to 
secure,  nobody  believes  that  his  failures  should  amount  to  forty  per 
cent.  The  late  veteran  horse  breeder,  M.  W.  Dunham,  said  that  in 
his  experience  a  good  breeder  working1  with  good  blood,  though 
aiming  at  comparatively  high  standards,  should  succeed  seven 
times  out  of  ten.  In  making  this  statement  he  was  alluding  to 
standards  vastly  higher  than  the  average  of  those  demanded  in  the 
so-called  market  classes;  therefore,  according  to  his  estimate  more 
than  seventy  per  cent,  of  horses  should  fill  market  requirements,  if 
they  were  really  bred  to  that  end. 


18  BULLETIN  NO.  62  [February, 

LACK  OF  STANDARDS  IN  BREEDING. — In  as  much  as  so  large  a 
proportion  fail  to  come  to  any  valuable  standard  whatever,  whether 
the  one  they  were  bred  for  or  some  other,  we  are  forced  to  infer 
that  horses  are  not  produced  for  distinct  purposes  and  bred  to  de- 
finite ends  as  generally  or  as  successfully  as  they  should  be;  in 
other  words,  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  forty  per  cent,  is  re- 
movable and  should  be  eliminated. 

MARKET  STANDARDS  AND  CLASSES  OF  HORSES  NOT  GENERALLY 
KNOWN. — The  most  of  the  horses  that  supply  the  great  markets  are 
produced  upon  the  farms  of  the  country  and  by  farmers  largely  en- 
gaged in  crop  raising  and  with  other  kinds  of  live  stock.  A  some- 
what extended  study  of  the  matter  reveals  the  fact  that  few  farm- 
ers of  this  class  have  definite  knowledge  of  the  distinct  classes  re- 
cognized in  the  markets  or  of  the  types  and  characters  demanded 
for  each.  They  have  therefore  been  working  in  the  dark,  having 
no  model  in  mind  and  no  standard  to  breed  to;  and  we  are  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  a  large  proportion  of  horses  that  are  suited 
to  the  market  needs  were  produced  not  by  design  but  by  accident. 
This  is  borne  out  not  only  by  the  forty  per  cent,  of  unclassed 
horses  that  go  to  the  markets  but  by  the  unnumbered  mob  of 
"scalawags"  that  remains  behind  on  the  farms,  too  bad  to  sell  and 
kept  "to  raise  colts." 

This  conclusive  evidence  of  lack  of  standards  in  horse  produc- 
tion, together  with  the  positive  knowledge  that  farmers  as  a  rule 
do  not  know  the  market  classes  or  their  requirements,  has  led  to  the 
publication  of  this  bulletin,  which  is  an  attempt  to  define  each 
market  class  and  describe  the  type  of  horse  that  will  fill  it. 

COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION  ESTABLISHED  THE  CHICAGO  HORSE 
MARKET. — The  World's  Fair  of  1892  brought  to  the  attention  of 
European  dealers  not  only  the  high  quality  of  American  horses  but 
the  almost  infinite  capacity  of  this  country  for  their  economical 
production.  Because  they  could  buy  more  quality  here  for  the 
same  money  or  the  same  quality  for  less  money  than  in  their  own 
country  horses  were  immediately  taken  in  large  numbers  for  export 
and  this  foreign  demand  established  the  Chicago  Horse  Market  on 
a  solid  basis  and  with  well-defined  classes. 

PORRIGN  TRADE  AND  CITY  DEMAND  Fix  MARKET  CLASSES. — 
These  purchases  were  always  for  particular  purposes,  giving 
rise  to  well  defined  market  classes  and  calling  for  definite  types 
of  animals.  Not  only  that,  the  "horse  consumption"  of  this 
country,  constantly  and  rapidly  increasing,  calls  for  the  same 
classes  and  types  demanded  by  the  foreign  trade,  with  such  addi- 
tions and  variations  as  are  naturally  incident  to  our  home  con- 


igOI.]  MARKET   CLASSES   OF   HORSES.  19 

ditions.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that  the  home  demand 
like  the  foreign  is  largely  limited  and  the  classes  fixed  by  the  city 
needs.  Stated  broadly,  therefore,  it  is  the  city  demand,  both 
foreign  and  domestic,  that  has  fixed  the  classes  and  types  of  horses 
in  the  Chicago  markets,  and  for  that  matter  in  all  markets.  More- 
over, this  demand  is  so  particular  and  the  classes  and  types  so  well 
defined  that  horses  making-  their  way  to  the  great  markets  are  clas- 
sified and  graded,  and  sold  according  to  their  classification  as  ac- 
curately and  as  absolutely  as  is  wheat  or  any  other  commodity. 

UTILITY  FIXES  THE  CLASS  AND  THE  VALUE. — Market  classes 
are  established,  not  according  to  the  age  of  the  animal  or  degrees 
of  soundness,  but  according  to  size,  conformation,  and  style;  that 
is  to  say,  utility  for  particular  purposes  is  the  basic  principle  of 
classification,  and  the  ability  of  the  animal  to  fill  the  particular 
purpose  is  what  fixes  his  class  and  his  value,  with  the  exception 
that  all  high  class  horses  must  be  sound  and  possess  no  glaring  fault. 

CLASSES  NOT  CONTINUOUS. — As  might  be  expected  these 
classes  do  not  generally  overlap,  nor  do  they  always  meet;  that  is 
to  say,  the  gradations  are  not  uniform,  passing  from  one  class 
directly  into  the  next.  There  are  gaps  between  them,  often  wide 
ones,  through  which  an  animal  may  drop,  so  to  speak,  and  though 
young  and  sound  may  be  a  cheap  horse;  for  example,  if  he  be  too 
light  for  a  draft  horse  and  yet  too  heavy  and  "drafty"  for  the  'bus 
he  is  too  much  for  the  one  and  too  little  for  the  other,  and  even 
though  considered  by  himself  he  may  be  a  good  horse  he  is  never- 
theless a  cheap  one,  and  no  man  who  understands  his  business 
would  produce  him  if  he  could  help  it. 

THE  FIVE  MARKET  CLASSES. — Classes  differ  somewhat  in  dif- 
ferent markets,  but  in  Chicago,  which  claims  to  be  the  greatest 
horse  market  in  the  world,  there  are  five  distinct  and  well  defined 
market  classes  in  large  demand.  They  are  all  classified  from  the 
standpoint  of  utility,  and  except  in  class  five  may  or  may  not  be 
registered  animals.  They  are  all  based  upon  special  needs,  and  all 
call  for  particular  size,  conformation,  and  style. 

CLASS  1.     ROAD,  CARRIAGE,  AND  COACH  HORSES. 

USES. — This  is  the  highest  class  of  unregistered  horses  on  the 
market,  though  many  are  of  the  highest  breeding  and  all  must 
show  good  blood.  They  are  distinctly  driving  horses,  though  not 
racers,  and  are  used  for  private  work  as  distinct  from  public  service. 
Accordingly,  they  are  driven  to  all  sorts  of  private  vehicles,  either 
for  business  or  pleasure,  from  the  light  runabout  drawn  by  the 
road  horse  to  the  elegant  victoria,  brougham,  or  heavy  coach 


20  BULLETIN  NO.  62.  [February, 

drawn  by  the  carriage  or  coach  horse.  They  are  distinctly  gentle- 
men's drivers,  whether  handled  by  the  owner  or  his  coachman,  and 
all  the  conditions  call  for  a  high  class  horse  to  correspond  with 
good  to  elegant  appointments  and  to  satisfy  the  eye  of  a  horseman 
or  at  least  of  a  lover  of  horses.  They  are  used  both  in  city  and 
country,  but  are  found  chiefly  on  the  boulevards  and  in  the  parks 
of  the  larger  cities  before  fashionable  turnouts  driven  by  a  coach- 
man or  before  a  light/wagon  driven  by  the  owner  for  the  pleasure 
of  driving.  They  are  used  singly  or  in  pairs,  and,  when  matched, 
uniformity  in  size,  -style,  and  action  are  imperative,  while  differ- 
ences in  color  or  sex  are  almost  disregarded.  It  may  be  said  in 
general,  however,  that  though  the  market  professes  not  to  distin- 
guish between  mares  and  geldings,  yet  most  men  feel  a  decided 
preference  for  the  latter,  and  only  the  limited  supply  of  horses  of 
high  quality  prevents  this  choice  from  asserting  itself  and  a  higher 
price  ruling  for  geldings  than  for  mares. 

DESCRIPTION. --The  varied  uses  to  which  these  horses  are  put 
admit  a  wide  range  in  height  and  weight.  Horses  may  vary  in 
height  from  '15  hands  to  16  hands  2  inches,  and  in  weight  from 
1000  to  1200  pounds  and  still  rank  in  this  class,  though  these  are 
extremes.  The  typical  specimen  would  stand  from  15-3  to  16 
hands  and  weigh  from  1100  to  1150  pounds. 

In  color,  there  is  little  choice  between  bays,  blacks,  browns, 
chestnuts  and  sorrels,  but  light  greys  are  not  in  favor,  and  un- 
sightly colors  and  markings  are  barred  out.  The  form,  style, 
and  action,  however,  must  be  strictly  high  class,  and  whether 
registered  or  not,  they  must  show  plenty  of  good  breeding. 

In  form  they  must  be  both  beautiful  and  serviceable.  The 
head  must  be  clean  and  fine  and  well  carried  upon  a  neck  that  rises 
gracefully  from  the  shoulders.  The  forehead  must  be  broad  and 
full,  ears  carried  well  forward,  eye  full  and  bright,  all  showing  in- 
telligence, docility,  and  spirit.  The  nostrils  must  be  large  and 
open,  the  muzzle  fine,  and  the  neck  of  medium  length,  clean,  and 
well  carried  without  need  of  check.  Short  heavy  heads,  dull  eyes, 
drooping  ears,  short  beefy  necks,  ewe-necks  and  thick  necks,  all 
bar  horses  from  this  class. 

The  shoulder  must  be  sloping,  the  back  short  and  well  coupled 
with  a  full  strong  loin;  the  barrel  round,  the  hips  smooth,  and  the 
tail  set  high.  The  legs  must  be  straight  and  alike  and  free  from 
all  unsoundness  and  serious  blemishes;  the  bone  must  be  flat  and 
clean,  the  tendons  strong  and  smooth,  the  knee  wide,  the  hock 
strong,  and  the  pastern  moderately  long  and  sloping.  There 
should  be  a  proper  proportion  between  the  forearm  and  the  cannon. 


MARKET   CLASSES   OF    HORSES.  21 

If  the  forearm  be  too  long-  the  result  will  be  a  knee  sprung-  horse 
after  considerable  service;  if  too  short  he  will  be  "calf  kneed,"  i.  e. 
the  knee  joint  as  it  is  called,  (properly  the  wrist),  will  appear  as  if 
shutting-  too  far  backward  and  breaking-  down.  The  proper  rel- 
ative leng-th  ot  these  two  bones  is  believed  to  be  not  far  from  21 
inches  for  the  forearm  to  11  inches  for  the  cannon.  The  foot 
should  be  moderately  wide  at  the  heel,  show  dense  horn  and  stand 
squarely  under  the  leg-,  with  no  sug-gestion  of  being-  "pig-eon  toed'1 
(toes  pointing-  inward)  or  "nig-ger  heeled"  (heels  close  and  toes 
outward.)  Last  of  all  the  body  should  be  covered  with  a  full  coat 
of  fine  soft  hair  and  carry  a  fair  amount  of  flesh,  but  without  an 
appearance  of  beefiness.  Nothing-  is  so  g-ood  an  evidence  of  qual- 
ity in  a  hoTse  as  fine  hair  and  prominent  veins  standing-  well  out 
on  the  face  and  over  the  body. 

Every  line  and  movement  should  please  the  eye,  and.satisfy  the 
demand  for  a  stylish  horse.  He  must  show  considerable  speed  but 
his  work  must  be  done  neatly  and  with  apparent  pride  and  satis- 
faction to  the  animal.  He  must  respond  to  the  will  of  the  driver 
and  exhibit  sense  and  courag-e  in  the  presence  of  unusual  sig-htsand 
sounds. 

Nothing-  is  more  important  in  these  horses  than  action,  and 
nothing- expresses  what  is  wanted  better  than  the  word,  "direct- 
ness;" or  as  the  horsemen  call  it  "straight  line  movement."  What 
is  meant  is  that  the  legs  should  move  forward  in  straig-ht  lines, 
neither  swing-ing  in  to  "interfere"  nor  out  to  "wobble."  In  taking- 
the  step  the  foot  should  be  well  folded  in  at  the  pastern  and  thrust 
forward,  but  in  straig-ht  lines  with  no  suggestion  of  "paddling."  In 
carriage  and  coach  horses  the  knee  and  hock  should  be  carried 
moderately  high  in  action,  especially  the  former  and  the  front  foot 
and  leg-  from  the  knee  down  should  exhibit  a  rolling-  action  the  foot 
taking  the  ground  lightly  at  the  bottom  of  a  circular  movement,  so 
to  speak,  and  not  thrust  forward  into  the  ground,  causing  pound- 
ing and  rapidly  "staving"  the  horse  on  pavements  and  hard  roads. 
For  road  horses  in  which  ability  to  cover  distance  is  a  prime  requi- 
site, excessively  hig-h  action  is  a  detriment  rather  than  otherwise 
as  it  wears  out  the  horse  when  his  energ-y  is  needed  for  getting 
over  space.  In  these  horses  the  front  leg  should  be  nicely  folded  as 
it  is  taken  from  the  ground  then  thrust  far  forward,  not  punching- 
into  the  earth  but  reaching-  its  farthest  point  while  yet  three  or 
four  inches  above  the  ground  then  dropping-  straight  down,  taking 
the  ground  lightly.  This  is  the  easiest  trotting-  pace  therefore  the 
most  useful  for  covering-  distance,  and  if  well  taken  is  as  sightly  as 
any  other  though  it  presumes  considerable  speed. 


22  BULLETIN  NO.  62.  [February, 

In  both  types  the  fore  and  hind  legs  must  move  in  harmony 
and  neither  interfere  with  the  work  of  the  other.  If  the  hind  legs 
are  too  long  the  hind  foot  will  strike  the  front,  unless  the  horse 
"straddles,"  which  is  unsightly;  if  too  short  or  lacking  in  action 
the  horse  gives  the  appearance  of  trotting  in  front  and  walking  be- 
hind, the  most  awkward  known  gait  and  commonly  found  in 
a  horse  too  long  in  the  back. 

In  this  class  belongs  the  "cob"  which  is  distinctly  an  American 
type,  the  trade  in  cobs  being  confined  to  this  country.  The  cob  is 
a  blocky,  'natty"  little  horse  some  15 — 1  to  15 — 2  weighing  1000  to 
1100  pounds  and  much  in  demand  as  a  single  driver  before  a  light 
buggy. 

VALUES.— Horses  in  this  class  sell  at  from  $150.00  to  $300.00 
and  upward,  fine  specimens  selling  readily  at  $400.00  or  $500.00, 
and  in  some  instances  at  $1,000.00  and  upward.  These  horses  are 
worth  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  per  cent,  more  when  well  matched 
than  when  single,  and  in  all  cases  the  value  depends  greatly  on 
the  training  and  "manners"  exhibited;  for  in  no  other  class  of 
horses  is  an  animal  sold  more  upon  his  merits  as  a  performer  than 
in  this  class  of  gentlemen's  drivers. 

PRODUCTION. — Two  elements  go  to  establish  the  value  of  these 
horses — the  horse  himself  and  his  training.     The  latter  must  be 
done  by  some  one  well  up  in  the  methods  of  handling  horses  and 
in  what  the  trade  calls  for.     This   will  generally  be  the  regular/ 
dealer  or  his  agent  or  employe. 

The  production  of  the  horse  himself,  however,  is  a  matter  of 
breeding  and  reasonable  feeding  and  care.  Without  the  former, 
no  feed,  care  or  training  can  make  a  high  class  driving  horse  and 
one  certainly  cannot  be  made  out  of  a  scrub. 

The  most  successful  blood  for  the  production  of  carriage  and 
coach  horses  has  been  that  of  certain  strains  of  the  Standard  Bred, 
or  American  Trotter  as  he  is  often  called,  the  French  Coach,  the 
Morgan  and  the  Hackney,  and  road  horses  have  been  most  success- 
fully produced  from  the  Trotter  and  the  Morgan.  Whatever  blood 
is  employed,  it  should  be  used  on  brood  mares  of  good  form  and 
substance  and  of  a  size  and  type  to  correspond  with  the  blood  of 
the  sire.  Whoever  undertakes  to  produce  these  horses  should  send 
them  to  the  markets  untrained  unless  he  be  a  horseman  in  fact  as 
well  as  in  opinion.  Some  of  the  finest  specimens  are  permanently 
ruined  by  bad  handling  long  before  reaching  the  markets.  The 
most  common  mistakes  are,  first,  the  use  of  the  over-check  while 
young  making  a  "ewe-neck"  and  a  bulging  throat;  second,  speed- 
ing while  young,  developing  the  racing  spirit,  latent  in  all  these 


IQO1.J  MARKET   CLASSES    OF    HORSES.  23 

horses,  before  they  have  learned  real  action,  and  making-  it  impos- 
sible thereafter  to  make  good  "workers"  of  them;  and,  third,  clip- 
ping- the  foretop,  which,  thoug-h  only  temporary,  detracts  from  his 
value  enoug-h  to  pay  his  keeping-  until  it  grows  out.  This  damage 
from  a  clipped  foretop  is  considered  in  the  markets  as  $25. 00. 

CLASS   2.     CAB  HORSES. 

USES. — As  the  name  indicates  these  horses  are  used  on  cabs 
and  other  light  vehicles  kept  for  public  service.  This  class  of 
horses  is  also  used  for  light  delivery,  and  those  owned  by  the  bet- 
ter mercantile  houses  are  the  pick  of  the  class.  These  two  uses 
fix  the  class  and  the  price,  though  many  will  be  found  in  other 
places  where  light  plain  driving  is  needed. 

DESCRIPTION. — The  cab  horse  is  a  strong,  blocky,  and  useful 
little  horse,  15  hands  to  15-2  in  height  and  weighing  1050  to  1100 
pounds.  He  must  be  a  "rugged1'  horse,  but  he  is  plain,  and  is  re- 
quired to  show  but  moderate  action,  though  he  must  be  able  to  go 
long  at  the  trot,  and  handle  some  load. 

VALUE. — While  an  exceedingly  useful  horse  and  one  "con- 
sumed" in  large  numbers  the  supply  is  very  large  and  values  are 
always  moderate,  rarely  exceeding  $75.00  to  $100.00.  He  is  a  good 
but  plain  and  cheap  horse.  This  is  the  smallest  horse  and  the 
plainest  one  that  the  market  demands  or  that  can  be  sold  at  any- 
thing but  ruinous  prices. 

PRODUCTION. — The  prices  realized  warrant  nobody  in  under- 
taking the  production  of  these  horses.  The  large  supply  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  there  are  culls  from  Class  1,  just  described  and  from 
Class  3,  next  to  follow,  and  that  a  sufficient  supply  will  doubtless 
always  appear  naturally  in  the  attempt  to  produce  these  two  more 
valuable  classes. 

CLASS  3.     Bus  HORSES. 

USES. — These  horses  take  their  name  from  the  foreign  demand 
for  use  on  omnibuses.  They  are  used  for  the  same  purpose  in  this 
country,  though  the  omnibus  is  less  a  feature  of  American  than  of 
foreign  cities.  For  this  purpose  they  are  generally  driven  in  pairs. 
The  same  horse  is  used  here  as  an  "express"  horse  or  for  heavy  de- 
livery. Whatever  the  use  to  which  he  is  to  be  put,  two  require- 
ments are  imperative:  First,  he  must  be  able  to  handle  a  consid- 
erable load,  and  second,  he  must  do  it  at  a  slow  trot  and  sustain 
the  gait. 

DESCRIPTION. — If  there  is  any  "general  purpose"  horse  it  is  the 
bus  horse.  He  must  be  fitted  to  handle  a  load  at  a  slow  trot,  but  is 


24  BULLETIN  NO.  62.  {February, 

not  required  to  show  style.  His  action,  however,  should  not  be 
bad  and  it  must  be  easy.  He  must  be  a  smooth  made  horse,  shape 
himself  well  in  harness,  give  evidence  of  plenty  of  stamina  and 
should  stand  from  15 — 1  to  16  hands  and  weigh  from  1250  to  1400 
pounds.  This  is  not  a  small  draft  horse,  for  his  gait  is  to  be  the 
trot  and  not  the  walk.  He  must,  therefore,  show  a  more  sloping- 
shoulder  and  a  longer  and  more  sloping-  pastern  than  in  the  draft 
type,  and  go  at  the  slow  trot  with  perfect  ease.  The  supposition 
that  small  draft  horses  will  fill  this  class  is  a  common  mistake  that 
has  cost  American  horse  breeders  much  time  and  money. 

VALUES. — These  horses  sell  readily  for  export  or  home  con- 
sumption at  from  $100.00  to  $150.00.  Classes  2  and  3,  unlike  class 
1,  have  no  fancy  prices,  because  there  is  no  fancy  service-  Their 
work  is  purely  commercial  and  their  values  are  as  standard  as  that 
of  wheat  and  fluctuate  only  within  narrow  limits  according  to  in- 
dividual quality  like  any  other  purely  commercial  article. 

PRODUCTION. — This  is  the  cheapest  horse  that  it  will  ever  pay 
to  produce  by  direct  effort.  The  best  blood  to  use  is  probably 
a  medium  Percheron  stallion  and  a  small  mare  with  fairly  g-ood  ac- 
tion and  plenty  of  bone  and  stamina.  These  horses  can  be  sold 
without  training-  except  that  they  should  be  broken  to,  harness  and 
accustomed  to  lig-ht  work.  These  are  not  driving-  horses  and  no  at- 
tempt should  be  made  to  develop  speed. 

CLASS  4.     DRAFT  HORSES. 

USES. — There  is  one  standard  use  for  the  draft  horse,  and  that 
is  to  haul  enormous  loads  at  the  walk  only,  g-enerally  in  the  cities 
and  on  pavements  or  hard  roads.  They  may  be  used  single,  in 
pairs,  three  or  four  abreast,  unicorn  fashion,  or  in  four,  or  even  six, 
eight,  or  ten  horse  teams,  two  abreast. 

DESCRIPTION. — Strength  is  the  one  consideration  in  the  draft 
horse,  and  broadly  speaking,  weight  is  the  principal  element.  If, 
however,  the  mechanism  of  the  horse  is  to  endure  the  strain  he 
must  have  a  strong  hind  leg,  especially  at  the  hock,  a  heavy  loin 
with  short  coupling  and  a  strong  front  leg  and  dense  hoof,  because 
so  large  a  proportion  of  his  weight  is,  or  should  be,  in  front. 

With  the  draft  horse  it  is  not  a  question  of  height,  but  of 
weight;  indeed  the  nearer  the  ground  he  is  the  better  both  for  ser- 
vice and  endurance.  To  class  with  draft  horses  an  animal  must 
weigh  not  less  than  1500  pounds  in  good  flesh  and  he  is  all  the 
more  valuable  if  he  weighs  1800,  2000,  or  even  more.  He  cannot 
be  too  heavy  if  his  "bone"  corresponds  to  his  weight 

Such  a  horse  should    be  blocky  made  with  heavy  bone,  though 


igOl.]  MARKET   CLASSES   OF   HORSES.  2$ 

smooth;  short  in  the  back,  close  coupled  with  heavy  loin,  rounded 
hips,  wide  strong-  hock,  flat  bone,  moderately  short  pasterns, 
medium  straight  shoulder,  heavy  in  the  front  with  full  breast  and 
leg's  placed  well  apart,  though  not  extremely  wide.  The  animal 
should  carry  a  good  covering-  of  flesh,  be  smooth  finished  all  over, 
and  manifest  docility  and  a  disposition  to  do  heavy  work  with 
patience  but  with  spirit.  Accordingly  he  should  show  a  bright  mild 
eye,  an  erect  ear,  and  a  smooth  easy  action  at  the  trot.  It  should 
be  as  straig-ht  and  true  as  described  under  Class  1,  thoug-h  this  is 
not  so  important,  and  action  is  taken  at  the  trot,  not  because  he  is 
expected  to  use  the  gait,  but  because  it  is  the  best  indication  of  the 
ease  with  which  he  can  handle  his  legs.  The  good  draft  horse, 
is  not  expected  to  make  speed,  yet  he  must  not  be  in  constant 
"quarrel  with  his  legs."  Because  it  is  easier  to  secure  weight  in 
fat  than  in  bone,  care  should  be  taken  to  insure  heavy  bone  in  ex- 
treme weights,  but  this  should  not  be  done  at  the  expense  of  fair 
finish. 

VALUES. — Draft  horses  of  good  form  sell  almost  according  to 
weight,  except  that  as  weights  increase,  prices  rise  at  a  much 
greater  ratio;  so  that  extreme  weights  bring  enormous  prices  if  only 
the  bone  is  satisfactory.  Prices  range  from  $125.00  to  $300.00, 
with  an  occasional  one  higher  and  with  an  increase  of  about  ten 
per  cent,  when  matched  in  teams.  These  prices  are  sometimes  ex- 
ceeded, and  dealers  insist  that  prices  were  never  so  low  that  a  span 
of  draft  horses  would  not  bring  $600.00  if  only  they  were  good 
enough. 

PRODUCTION. — This  is  par  excellence  the  horse  for  the  farmer 
to  raise.  Only  the  blood  of  the  best  draft  breeds,  and  the  heaviest 
and  best  boned  stallions  are  suitable.  Even  then  the  demand  for 
extreme  weights  necessitates  the  use  of  large  mares  that  are  good 
milkers.  In  no  other  way  can  colts  be  produced  with  sufficient  bone 
and  feeding  quality  to  attain  the  size  and  finish  demanded  by  the 
markets.  Even  then  the  youngster  must  be  supplied  with  the  best 
of  feed  in  large  amounts  from  the  very  first.  Plenty  of  good  pas- 
ture, clover  hay,  oats,  and  corn  are  imperative,  and  there  is  no 
better  feed  for  young  horses  than  green  corn  cut  from  the  field  and 
fed  whole.  Only  the  best  blood  should  be  used  and  then  every  ef- 
fort must  be  made  to  keep  the  horse  gaining  from  the  first  if  he  is 
to  top  the  market. 

All  this  is  much  like  growing  beef,  and  these  are  the  horses  to 
produce  on  the  farms.  They  can  be  produced  nowhere  else  to  advan- 
tage and,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  draft  horse  is  really  the 
highest  priced  standard  horse  in  the  market,  it  is  easy  enough  to 


26  BULLETIN  NO.  62.  [fiebruary, 

see  what  horse  the  farmer  should  raise.  He  not  only  sells  for 
more  average  money,  but  if  bred  with  the  same  care  there  are 
fewer  culls,  and  no  training-  is  required  beyond  light  common  work 
to  familiarize  him  with  the  harness  and  with  drawing1.  The  dis- 
position of  the  draft  horse  is  so  docile  and  his  ancestors  have 
labored  so  long-  that  he  works  almost  by  instinct,  and  he  requires 
no  special  training-  to  g-o  upon  the  markets. 

CLASS  5.     THE  AMERICAN  TROTTER. 

This  must  be  a  Standard  Bred  registered  horse  with  a  record 
not  less  than  2:18.  His  training-  must  be  gilt  edg-ed  from  the  rac- 
ing- standpoint  and  the  price  is  from  $200.00  up. 

No  other  class  of  horses  has  so  many  culls,  nor  such  worth- 
less ones  as  this,  and  it  is  a  class  to  be  bred  and  handled  by  the 
professional  horseman  and  not  the  farmer. 

MISCELLANEOUS  HORSES. 

Aside  from  these  standard  classes  there  are  fire  horses,  police 
horses,  etc.,  etc.,  each  with  somewhat  distinct  requirements. 
The  demand  being-  limited,  it  is  always  easily  satisfied  from  the 
general  supply,  and,  because  limited,  offers  no  inducement  to  the 
horse  producer  who  cannot  afford  to  breed  for  a  class  so  limited 
in  numbers.  The  saddler  is  an  exception  to  the  above,  but  the 
production  of  saddle  horses  is  a  special  line  of  horse  production 
and  not  of  interest  to  the  general  farmer.  The  cavalry  and  the 
artillery  horse  are  often  called  for  in  large  numbers,  but  the 
demand  is  irregular,  and,  except  in  rare  cases,  is  fully  satisfied 
from  the  general  stock  on  hand. 

SUMMARY. 

Market  classes  and  types  are  fixed  not  by  the  breeds  but  by 
the  uses  to  which  horses  are  put. 

As  these  uses  are  definite,  the  type  and  the  class  are  fixed. 

As  these  uses  are  exceedingly  varied,  there  are  often  wide  gaps 
between  the  market  classes. 

A  horse  that  drops  between  the  classes  is  a  cheap  horse,  no 
matter  how  good  an  animal,  either  because  there  is  little  use  for 
him  or  because  the  supply  is  unlimited. 

The  best  horse  to  breed  is  one  that  most  fully  meets  a  definite, 
constant,  and  strong  demand,  and  has  therefore  a  high  average 
selling  price. 

The  cavalry  horse  and  the  fire  horse  are  good  examples  of 
valuable  horses  that  the  breeder  cannot  undertake  to  produce  be- 


MARKET   CLASSES    OF   HORSES.  2"J 

cause  the  demand  is  too  limited.  The  demand  for  them  will  al- 
ways be  satisfied  from  the  general  supply. 

Phenomenally  high  prices  are  as  much  due  to  the  fancy  of  the 
individual  purchaser  as  to  the  character  of  the  animal.  In  any 
event  they  are  seldom  realized  and  are  to  be  sought  by  the  dealer 
and  not  by  the  breeder,  as  they  represent  but  one  out  of  hundreds 
or  even  thousands — too  few  to  breed  for. 

The  farmer  should  keep  himself  acquainted  with  standard 
classes  in  steady  demand  at  uniformly  good  prices,  breed  these,  and 
pay  no  regard  to  high  speed,  phenomenal  sales,  or  fancy  values. 


IJULLKTIN    NO.   62. 


February,  [1901. 


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